Wednesday, April 16, 2003

Somaliland preliminary results due on FridayNAIROBI, 16 APRIL 2003- The authorities in the self-declared republic of Somaliland are due to announce the preliminary results of Monday's presidential elections on Friday, according to a senior official.

The chairman of Somaliland's electoral commission, Ahmad Haji Ali "Adami", told IRIN that the commission was planning to release preliminary results by Thursday but "heavy rains have impeded results from coming in from outlying districts".

He said results from Hargeysa, the capital, were in, but "we are still waiting for the others. This has pushed back our timetable by at least two days", he said.

Adami said the voting had been "peaceful and orderly with not a single report of violence". He added that voter turnout had been heavy, with most of the estimated one million or so Somalilanders eligible to vote, casting their ballots.

He admitted, however, that there were problems in the disputed regions of Sool and Sanaag. He said voting was proceeding normally in some districts, but in others "it is not going very well because of security reasons".